[EpicEng]

I went to a chiro for neck and shoulder pain regularly for a couple of months. I felt nominally better for a couple of hours after each session, but then the problem came right back. They also told me to stretch, which was obvious.

Took a trip to a doctor and got a useful diagnosis at the first visit. So I would say no, going to a chiro does not prove it to be more than complete BS. They stretched out my tight muscles/tendons which gave me minor temporary relief. Woohoo.

[Phlow]

Well, how many people go to doctors and get no useful information or solutions to their problems? Tons. It doesn't follow that doctors are bullshit. (And I would argue that a couple hours of nominally feeling better is more than those people get from a doctor visit, but I digress)

If your problems are spine/neck/etc related, having yourself adjusted will provide relief, and strengthening, stretching and maintaining good posture habits will help keep those things from recurring. And, of course, as you age, the body breaks down... there's only so much that can be corrected.

I will say, strengthening my core made the most difference in my spine/neck pain. Heavy weight squats, push ups, planks, etc.

[EpicEng]

Moving the goal posts a bit here. The doctor ended up solving the issue in my case.

[lttlrck]

Did they recommend any exercises? And did you follow them? The pain coming back is hardly a surprise if neither of those things occurred. Same with physio.

[EpicEng]

I've been lifting weights since I was 14, so no exercise recommendations. I did the stretches, but I was doing that prior to seeing them anyway.

In my case, the problem was something called weight lifter's shoulder. Not something that can be fixed by a chiro, but they were happy to take my money for two months while providing no diagnostic value.